Ignorance, Thy Name is Bucky by Darby Conley, 128 pages

 Chances are the warm fuzzies aren't what you will get when you pick up Ignorance, Thy Name Is Bucky . Instead, you'll get LOL moments as Darby Conley pumps hilarity into living the single life with pets.

The family Rob Wilco, the tallest member of the family, is a single, mild-mannered ad executive who pays the bills and often the price, thanks to his curious and anthropomorphic housemates. Rob gives guidance and all sorts of "material" to Bucky, a temperamental cat, who clearly wears the fur pants in the family. Satchel, a good-hearted pooch, plays neutral, but usually ends up on the receiving end of Bucky's mischief.

Chickenbone Church Reunion by Wendy Daughdrill & Anita Havens, 154 pages

 The elderly white men of a small, southern community are all being brutally murdered, and an old black grandmother must sort through the tangle of her childhood memories to find the key to unlock the mystery and stop the killer.

An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor, 495 pages

 Barry Laverty, M.B., is looking forward to his first Christmas in the cozy village of Ballybucklebo, at least until he learns that his sweetheart, Patricia, might not be coming home for the holidays. That unhappy prospect dampens his spirits somewhat, but Barry has little time to dwell on his romantic disappointments. Christmas may be drawing nigh, but there is little peace to be found on earth, especially for a young doctor plying his trade in the emerald hills and glens of rural Ireland. Along with his senior partner, Doctor Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly, Barry has his hands full dealing with seasonal coughs and colds, as well as the occasional medical emergency. To add to the doctors' worries, competition arrives in the form of a patient-poaching new physician whose quackery threatens the health and well-being of the good people of Ballybucklebo. Can one territory support three hungry doctors? Barry has his doubts. But the wintry days and nights are not without a few tidings of comfort and joy. Between their hectic medical practice, Rugby Club parties, and the kiddies' Christmas Pageant, the two doctors still find time to play Santa Claus to a struggling single mother with a sick child and not enough money in the bank. Snow is rare in Ulster, and so are miracles, but that doesn't mean they never happen. . . .

Chase Me by Aidy Award, 266 pages

 She's stolen a priceless relic from his treasure, and his heart.

Ciara is the best damn wedding planner this side of anywhere, but she's no thief.
That's exactly what the sexy-ass dragon shifter has accused her of - stealing his treasure.
She's going to steal something of his alright, his sanity, if he doesn't let her go so she can get back to giving couples their happy ever afters.
Its the best way to ignore the fact she's sure she'll never get one her own.
Not with any man, or even a dragon.

Jakob is either going to kill the sexy, curvy woman who denies she has The First Dragon's relic, or take her to bed and drive her as crazy as she's making him.
Why does he want her so much he can't even properly interrogate her?
Might have something to do with the way his soul is screaming at him to mark her, claim her, f*ck her, and make dragon babies with her.

He can't give her his soul if she's already stolen it, or something darker and more dangerous has.

The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman, 208 pages

 If you make it across the border, get us help.

Some of us care.
Do you understand?
Right now we desperately need passports and identity papers.
The arrests grow insane.
At the very hour this message was en route to the CIA, Mrs. Pollifax was waiting for her night-blooming cereus too do its thing.
She hardly got to see it, however, because Mr. Carstairs was already on his way to recruit that gallant lady for another daring mission.
Soon, the most unlikely of all international spies was sporting a beautiful new hat. Perfect for hiding eight forged passports...

Laura Ingall's Wilder's Little Town by John E. Miller, 208 pages

 "I understand that in my own life, I represented a whole period of American history."

As Laura Ingalls Wilder realized they would, her widely loved stories of her prairie childhood have become much more than a nostalgic blend of myth, memories, and autobiography. Historically, John Miller reveals, they have much to tell us about the realities of day-to-day living and attitudes in the nineteenth century.

History and literature are closely intertwined, Miller contends, and in this book he illustrates how Wilder's novels enhance our understanding of history and how, simultaneously, a historical perspective framed Wilder's fiction. Wilder, he shows, interwove content and form to produce a sentimental and compelling, yet nuanced and believable, picture of family life on the agricultural frontier.

Focusing on Wilder's novels set in and around De Smet, South Dakota, which include By the Shores of Silver Lake and Little Town on the Prairie , Miller compares her fictional world to history recorded in census figures, newspaper accounts, county records, maps, and photographs. He illustrates that, although Wilder sacrificed some historical details for simplicity and drama, she preserved a general accuracy of people, places, events, and customs and depicted many facets of late nineteenth-century life, from food and entertainment to work ethics and education.

Miller also addresses the controversy over the authorship of the eight novels attributed to Wilder—was she the true author or were they ghostwritten by her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane? He contends that while Lane's editorial contribution was of great value, the voice in the book belongs to Wilder. The books are filled with her interpretations of the truth as influenced by the time period in which she grew up and the culture—the institutions, gossip, informal community pressure, media, stories, songs, roles, and stereotypes—that surrounded her.

Providing a glimpse of prairie life through the eyes of a young girl, Wilder's novels are as historically valid as their nonfiction cousins, Miller argues. Hers is a lived history—a sometimes romantic, sometimes observational account of the joys and frustrations of life on the prairie and a reflection of the westward movement in its prime.

Underground Missouri by Bruce Carlson, 172 pages

 The always strange, and sometimes funny things goin' on right under our feet here in Missouri.

The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore, 358 pages

 Librarian Chloe Sampson has been struggling: to take care of her three younger siblings, to find herself, to make ends meet. She's just about at the end of her rope when she stumbles across a rare edition of a book from the 1960s at the local flea market. Deciding it's a sign of her luck turning, she takes it home with her—only to be shocked when her cranky hermit of a neighbor swoops in and offers to buy it for an exorbitant price. Intrigued, Chloe takes a closer look at the book only to find notes scribbled in the margins between two young lovers back when the book was new…one of whom is almost definitely Jasper Holmes, the curmudgeon next door.

When she begins following the clues left behind, she discovers this isn't the only old book in town filled with romantic marginalia. This kickstarts a literary scavenger hunt that Chloe is determined to see through to the end. What happened to the two tragic lovers who corresponded in the margins of so many different library books? And what does it have to do with the old, sad man next door—who only now has begun to open his home and heart to Chloe and her siblings?

In a romantic tale that spans the decades, Chloe discovers that there's much more to her grouchy old neighbor than meets the eye. And in allowing herself to accept the unexpected friendship he offers, she learns that some love stories begin in the unlikeliest of places.

Murder in the Tea Leaves by Laura Childs, 399 pages

 When Theodosia Browning reads the tea leaves on the set of the movie, Dark Fortunes, things go from spooky to worse. Lights are dimmed, the camera rolls, and red hot sparks fly as the film’s director is murdered in a tricky electrical accident.

Or was it an accident? Though the cast and crew are stunned beyond belief, nobody admits to seeing a thing. And when Theodosia’s friend, Delaine, becomes the prime suspect, Theodosia begins her own shadow investigation. But who among this Hollywood cast and crew had murder on their mind? The screenwriter is a self-centered pot head, the leading actress is trying to wiggle out of her contract, the brand new director seems indifferent, and nobody trusts the slippery-when-dry Hollywood agent.

Between hosting a Breakfast at Tiffany’s Tea, a Poetry Tea, and trying to launch her own chocolate line, Theodosia doggedly hunts down clues and explores the seemingly haunted Brittlebank Manor where the murder took place. And just when she’s ready to pounce, a Charleston Film Board member is also murdered, throwing everything into total disarray. But this clever killer will go to any lengths to hide his misdeeds as Theodosia soon finds out when she and her tea sommelier, Drayton, get caught up in a dangerous stakeout.

Shape Up or Ship Out, Beetle Bailey by Mort Walker, 128 pages

 

The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman, 176 pages

 When Emily Pollifax answers the phone that Sunday morning, she quickly forgets all about her Garden Club tea that afternoon. For the voice on the other end belonged to a man she had never seen, a man from the CIA who asked her if she could leave immediately on a mission that would take her halfway across the world! What could Mrs. Pollifax say but yes?

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman, 192 pages

Mrs. Virgil (Emily) Pollifax of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was a widow with grown, married children. She was tired of attending her Garden Club meetings. She wanted to do something good for her country. So, naturally, she became a CIA agent.
In this utterly charming tale of suspense, one of our most famous and unusual fictional spies takes on a “job” in Mexico City. The assignment doesn’t sound dangerous at first, but then, as often happens, something goes wrong. Now, our dear Mrs. Pollifax finds herself embroiled in quite a hot Cold War—and her country's enemies find themselves entangled with one unbelievably feisty lady.

Cows of Our Planet by Gary Larson, 95 pages

 

Men of No Reputation: Robert Boatright, the Buckfoot Gang, and the Fleecing of Middle America by Kimberly Harper, 306 pages

 Men of No Reputation is the first account to explore the life of Robert Boatright, one of Middle America’s most gifted, but forgotten, confidence men. Boatright’s story provides a rare window into the secret world of Missouri’s criminal past, which influenced the methods of confidence men across the country.

Boatright took the preexisting big-store confidence scheme and perfected it. With the assistance of a talented coterie of confederates known as the Buckfoot Gang, this “dean of modern confidence men” fleeced the gentry of the Midwest on fixed athletic contests in the turn-of-the-century Ozarks” Working in concert with a local bank and an influential Democratic boss, Boatright seemed untouchable. A series of missteps, however, led to a string of court cases across the country that brought his criminal enterprise to an end. And yet, the con continued. Boatright’s successor, John C. Mabray, and his cronies, many of whom had been in the Buckfoot Gang, preyed upon victims across North America in one of the largest Midwestern criminal syndicates in history before they were brought to heel. Like the works of Sinclair Lewis, Boatright’s story exposes a rift in the wholesome Midwestern stereotype and furthers our understanding of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American society.

Something the Cat Dragged In by Charlotte MacLeod, 185 pages

 Herbert Ungley wouldn't have been caught dead without his toupée. When a cat dragged it in, landlady Betsy Lomax knew something was amiss. She knew to call Professor Peter Shandy, whose success at sleuthing had surpassed his fame as 'Father of the world-renowned rutabaga', the "Balaclava Buster".

The 'Hercule Poirot' of the turnip fields finds himself knee-deep in unanswered questions: who was Herbert's heir? Where had his shockingly large bank account come from? Why was another body planted among the trees of Balaclava college? Would Peter be able to root out the killer?

She Got Up Off the Couch and Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana by Haven Kimmel, 313 pages

 In this sequel to the top-selling A Girl Named Zippy, the woman rising heroically from the couch is Zippy's mother, Delonda. After years of languorous existence, this oversized couch potato emerged from the den to pursue a higher education. Delonda was well read but in other ways seemed ill suited for college: This middle-aged, 260-pound coed had a husband who disapproved of the entire venture, no driver's license, and almost no money. Like its predecessor, She Got Up Off the Couch holds our attention with its sympathetic rendering of idiosyncratic family characters. Hilarious; heartbreaking; ultimately empowering.

Millie-Christine: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Joanne Martell, 293 pages

 Conjoined twins Millie-Christine endured kidnappings and slavery, in both the United States and England, before rising to prominence as performers in traveling shows throughout Europe.

The Cuckoos of Batch Magna by Peter Maughan, 320 pages

 Welcome to Batch Magna, a place where anything might happen. And often does...

When Sir Humphrey Strange, 8th Baronet and squire of Batch Magna, departs this world for the Upper House, what’s left of his estate passes, through the ancient law of entailment, to distant relative Humph, an amiable, overweight short-order cook from the Bronx.

Sir Humphrey Franklin T. Strange, 9th Baronet and squire of Batch Magna, as Humph now most remarkably finds himself to be, is persuaded by his Uncle Frank, a small-time Wall Street broker, to make a killing by turning the sleepy backwater into a theme-park image of rural England, a playground for the world's rich.

But while the village pub and shop put out the Stars and Stripes in welcome, the tenants of the estate’s dilapidated houseboats tear up their notices to quit, and led by pulp-crime writer Phineas Cook and the one-eyed Lt-Commander James Cunningham, they run up the Union Jack and prepare to engage!

Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn, 472 pages

 On the sixth of April, in the year 1812 - precisely two days before her sixteenth birthday - Penelope Featherington fell in love. But Colin Bridgerton certainly didn't fall in love with her in 1812 (and not in 1813, 1814, 1815, or - oh blast, not in all the years 1816-1822, either, and certainly not in 1823, when he was out of the country the whole time, anyway). Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend's brother for well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret and fears she doesn't know him at all.

Colin Bridgerton is tired of being thought of as nothing but an empty-headed charmer, tired of everyone's preoccupation with the notorious gossip columnist Lady Whistledown, who can't seem to publish an edition without mentioning him in the first paragraph. But when Colin returns to London from a trip abroad he discovers nothing in his life is quite the same - especially Penelope Featherington! The girl haunting his dreams. But when he discovers that Penelope has secrets of her own, this elusive bachelor must decide is she his biggest threat - or his promise of a happy ending?

Murder on Wheels by Stuart Palmer, 159 pages

 Thick flakes of snow are falling on Fifth Avenue at twilight—and then the body of a young man suddenly falls among them, mysteriously out of the sky.

Momentarily the wheels of traffic are halted, but other wheels spin relentlessly on—the wheels of death, the wheels on which bloody murder moves silently through Manhattan’s streets.

Once again Miss Hildegarde Withers, the schoolteacher-detective, matches her wits against an unknown X, armed only with the precious gift of common sense and a cotton umbrella. One youth is dead, and his twin brother moves under a cloud. Then death rolls past again, like a swifter Juggernaut, while Miss Withers faces the problem of the Driverless Roadster, the Man Who Wore Two Neckties, and the Symptoms of Bathtub Hands.

Murder on Wheels is a fast moving mystery, packed with thrills for the fan who likes to play detective.

The Wedding of Cathy and Irving by Cathy Guisewite, 192 pages

 "YES."

  Rarely has one word, one positive response, resonated so loudly from the world's comic pages. But when leading lady Cathy finally took the plunge after nearly 30 interminable years! and accepted boyfriend Irving's marriage proposal, the occasion certainly deserved notice among Cathy fans around the globe.

The Wedding of Cathy and Irving captures all the fun, magic, and yes, the nerve-racking overanalyzing that filled the Cathy strips leading up to the big decision and the big day itself. This collection features some of the couple's most memorable moments from throughout their long relationship, but the spotlight shines most on the year that included the unexpected "ring find," the proposal, the "YES," and the frenetic wedding plans that Cathy and Mom both endure and perpetuate.

  The longest courtship in cartoon page history came to an end on February 5, 2005. But as The Wedding of Cathy and Irving shows, nothing is quite that simple in Cathy's world. Whether she's pondering pastor possibilities or worrying wedding dress selections to death, Cathy is unequalled in capturing the conundrums of modern women everywhere. It's all Cathy, through and through.

An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn, 483 pages

Sophie Beckett never dreamed she'd be able to sneak into Lady Bridgerton's famed masquerade ball—or that "Prince Charming" would be waiting there for her! Though the daughter of an earl, Sophie has been relegated to the role of servant by her disdainful stepmother. But now, spinning in the strong arms of the debonair and devastatingly handsome Benedict Bridgerton, she feels like royalty. Alas, she knows all enchantments must end when the clock strikes midnight.

Who was that extraordinary woman? Ever since that magical night, a radiant vision in silver has blinded Benedict to the attractions of any other—except, perhaps, this alluring and oddly familiar beauty dressed in housemaid's garb whom he feels compelled to rescue from a most disagreeable situation. He has sworn to find and wed his mystery miss, but this breathtaking maid makes him weak with wanting her. Yet, if he offers her his heart, will Benedict sacrifice his only chance for a fairy tale love?

You've Had It, Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz, 128 pages

 Presents the humorous antics of Charlie Brown and his lovable cartoon friends

It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz, 88 pages

 Sally is at her wit's end due to a science project. She steals a bird's nest hoping to end her problems but only succeeds in creating more.

She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz, 88 pages

 

What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz, 88 pages

 

You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz, 88 pages

 

You're Something Special, Snoopy! by Charles M. Schulz, 128 pages

 Book 33 in the Coronet range, this features selected cartoons from "The Unsinkable Charlie Brown vol. 2"

Think thinner, Snoopy by Charles M. Schulz, 128 pages

 

Shoes: Chocolate For the Feet by Cathy Guisewite, 128 pages

 Like best friends who've been together year after year, through thick and thin, Cathy and her adoring public have created a solid and stable relationship. Faithful readers count on their cartoon heroine to tell it like it is, whether the subject is relationships, shopping, or parental responsibilities.

In Shoes: Chocolate for the Feet, women immediately comprehend this connection between two of Cathy's downfalls-food and shopping. Cathy continues to battle the bulge, constantly losing the tug-of-war between her thin clothes and a well-stocked refrigerator. Millions of women have hilariously identified with Cathy's struggles with the four basic guilt groups: food, love, mother, and career.

The Viscount Who Loved My by Julia Quinn,

 This time the gossip columnists have it wrong. London’s most elusive bachelor Anthony Bridgerton hasn’t just decided to marry—he’s even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended’s older sister, Kate Sheffield—the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate’s the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams...

Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes do not make the best husbands—and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate’s determined to protect her sister—but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony’s lips touch hers, she’s suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself...

How to Win Friends and Influence Fungi: Collected Quirks of Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math from Nerd Nite edited by Dr. Chris Balakrishnan & Matt Wasowski, 304 pages

 For twenty years Nerd Nite has delivered to live audiences around the world the most interesting, fun, and informative presentations about science, history, the arts, pop culture, you name it. There hasn’t been a rabbit hole that their army of presenters hasn’t been afraid to explore. Finally, after countless requests to bring Nerd Nite to more fans across the globe, co-founders and college pals Matt Wasowski and Chris Balakrishnan offer readers the quirky and accessible science content they crave in book form. Focused on STEM and paired with detailed illustrations that make the content pop, the topics are quirky and vast, from kinky, spring-loaded spiders to the Webb telescope’s influence on movie special effects.

How to Win Friends and Influence Fungi features narratives, bursts, and infographics on all things STEM from scientists around the world. Chapters are sure to make you laugh-out-loud, with titles such as "The Science of the Hangover," "What Birds Can Teach Us About the Impending Zombie Apocalypse," and "Lessons from the Oregon Trail."